A businessman whose family have made a living in the town for nearly 90 years is urging shoppers to support its independent traders.

Michael Bowyer praised Wokingham’s “enthusiastic” and “loyal” independent shop owners, but is calling on the community to show their support or risk losing them.

Mr Bowyer’s father and grandfather Stanley and Henry Bowyer founded Henry Bowyer & Son Corn Chandlers in Peach Street in 1926, later becoming Wokingham Pet Shop.

Mr Bowyer, who still owns the building, spoke to The Wokingham Times after making his plea in a poster in the window of the pet shop which permanently closed on March 26.

He said: “We are privileged to have a very enthusiastic and loyal group of independent traders in Wokingham who will do all they can to provide a friendly, personal service, who are supported extremely well by a passionate and dedicated town council and staff. If we want to have the benefits of small, independent traders, where we get personal service, then we must support them.

“With the independent shops, regular customers build up a good social relationship with the shop staff and we must continue to build on this, we must not lose the social wellbeing of the community. To shop in the town used to be fun – all the traders knew each other which created a good friendly atmosphere.”

He added: “It is a case of use them or lose them. We haven’t got anyone to blame but ourselves.”

In August 1991 Mr Bowyer sold the family business to Richard Croyden, who ran it until it closed last week.

Mr Bowyer said: “When my father died it was not practical for me to continue with the pet shop together with my plant hire business. It is extremely difficult to make a living in the pet trade in a small town, due especially to the extremely high council rates and rents.”

Mr Bowyer has planning permission to refurbish the shop and the flat above and demolish the derelict buildings behind, which will be replaced by four flats. He believes Peach Street has suffered from declining trade in recent years. He also believes reduced car parking would help attract more shoppers and is not in favour of the proposed Elms Field development.

He said: “I am not in favour until such time as we get our town centre respectable, better parking at reasonable rates, well maintained pavements, shops all let with a balance of different trades, then if trade warrants building more shops, if we think it would be of benefit to the town centre or maybe not.

“We may decide we would like to keep Wokingham a ‘niche town’.

“We do not really want Wokingham to be like Bracknell or Reading, do we?”